


you can count on it, i'm where you left me

by decadencethief



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Canon-Typical Death, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:20:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27111085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/decadencethief/pseuds/decadencethief
Summary: Asphodel defeats Zagreus yet again. Than is there to tide him over.
Relationships: Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 152





	you can count on it, i'm where you left me

The heat of Asphodel presses down on Thanatos’ skin and crowds in his lungs, coating his mouth and throat with the heavy smell of sulphur. He breathes it in, uncaring, as he shifts across gravel and magma toward the solitary figure sprawled against a rough chunk of stone.

Zagreus’ lips curve into a lopsided grin when he sees him. “Hi, Than.” 

Cuts and bruises mar his chest and shoulders, and the mixture of grime and blood has almost covered his skin completely. His spear, fallen out of a limp hand, lies on the ground nearby. Than reaches to retrieve it. The metal is warm under his fingers, the length of it humming with powerful magic.

He lays it down next to Zagreus. “I came as soon as I could.” 

He hadn’t intended to, after their last conversation; he’d promised himself he would keep his distance. When it comes to Zagreus, his emotions have a way of overriding reason. He sits on the other side of the spear, the thin, deadly line of the weapon separating them.

Zagreus chuckles, then coughs. “It’s appreciated. Although I have a feeling this time isn’t going to be my lucky one.”

He’d be lucky if he left this room before collapsing, Than wishes to say but doesn’t. Zagreus already knows as much — it’s evident in the slump of his shoulders, the way he keeps weakly flexing his fingers instead of reaching for the spear. Yet, he’s still smiling, as if to himself, the expression in his bright eyes one Than cannot pin down. Pain, something akin to frustration but smoothed by amusement. 

It’d be easy to think this was all an elaborate joke to Zag, if he hadn’t seen him in action. If he didn’t know the way his determination hardened his chiselled features into something cold and sharp enough to kill, didn’t hear the snarls and expletives that seemed more befitting of the Master of the House than his warm, gentle son. 

He told Zag that the shades of the Underworld were starting to fear him; he understands why. 

There is none of that hardness now, however, as Zag turns his head to regard him. He sighs, the puff of air making his fringe bob. “The witches got me this time,” he murmurs, with a sheepishness that belies his current state.

It aches to see him like this, even when Than knows the injuries will be gone soon. Zag shouldn’t be made to reckon with the fury of all the Underworld unleashed on him, over and over, just so he can see his mother. It’s not fair, but he can’t change the way of gods. “It looks like you got them, too,” Than says instead.

Zag laughs, just like Than hoped he would, and then drops his head on his shoulder. “I’m so tired, Than. Stay with me awhile.”

Than’s heart pounds in his ears. Against his side, Zag is as hot as a lit torch, or the flame inside a hearth. Not the suffocating heat of Asphodel, but a warmth he wants to wrap himself up in. “Alright.”

When they last spoke, Zagreus wanted them to take their time — not rush into anything. Thanatos wondered if that was what his rejection was like: gentle and frustratingly open-ended, the edges filed down so it won’t hurt as much. 

Now, he reaches across the spear and brushes his hand against Than’s wrist. His fingers leave smears of blood in their wake, but Than laces them with his anyway. When the time comes for Zagreus to return to the House, the dried blood on his palm will remind him that he didn’t make this up. If nothing else, he gave him a reprieve amidst the fighting.

Zagreus squeezes his hand. “You smell nice, Than.”

Feeling his cheeks flush, he scoffs. “You’re delirious.”

“I mean it. You make even Asphodel feel better.” There’s a smile in his voice, even as his speech grows slurred with fatigue and blood loss. 

Than bites his lip. “I don’t believe that’s particularly difficult.”

“Still.” Zag turns to press his face against his shoulder. He draws a long breath. “You smell like my mother’s garden, up on the surface. I want to take you there someday.”

Than lifts up his free hand to brush Zag’s sweat-slicked hair out of his face. He imagines the brightness of the sunlit sky, the wind that picks at his robes and tousles his hair. Perhaps it won’t be that bad with him by his side. “I’d like that, Zagreus,” he murmurs. “Now rest.”

It’s a few minutes before Zag draws his last breath. Than remains at his side until the end, holding his hand even as the warmth leaves it.

He’s never certain what Zagreus wants him to be, but he knows he’ll stick around as long as he’ll have him. He’ll treasure the moments they steal together.

**Author's Note:**

> "aden haven't you stopped thinking about these fictional men yet" nope, and i don't think i ever will tbh so please take this offering of helplessly pining than and his oblivious future boyfriend.
> 
> you can find me on twitter [@decadencethief](https://twitter.com/decadencethief)! that's where i retweet a bunch of hades fanart and also post about six pomegranate seeds, my upcoming visual novel about persephone and hades!
> 
> title is from hold on by flor! i think they're just my thanzag band now
> 
> thank you for reading! <3


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